Grenfell Tower fire: inquiry blames UK authorities, building firms and construction industry

A culture of “incompetence, dishonesty and greed” among construction companies and buildings materials suppliers contributed to the Grenfell Tower fire disaster in which 72 people died in London 2017, according to the retired judge who chaired the inquiry.
The inquiry’s chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick said all of the deaths had been avoidable, and that the victims had also been “badly failed over a number of years” by public authorities who owned the building and oversaw building regulations.
In a speech in west London delivered upon the release of the inquiry’s final report on Wednesday, Mr Moore-Bick expressed particular criticism of the buildings materials suppliers who manufactured the flammable insulation and cladding on the outside of the tower. He said there had been “systematic dishonesty” on the part of these companies, in relation to the testing and marketing of their products.
Irish insulation company Kingspan, which supplied 5 per cent of the insulation, was among the companies criticised in the report. Kingspan said it is not to blame for the Grenfell disaster, but reiterated its apology for “past failings”.
During the inquiry hearings, Kingspan was accused by the counsel to the inquiry, Richard Millett KC, of “malpractice … in the development and testing, promotion and sale” of a foam insulation product and “misleading the market about the safety and compliance” of the material for tall buildings. Kingspan admitted to “process shortcomings” but said none were causative of the fire.
[ Kingspan ‘knowingly created false market’ for insulation used on Grenfell towerOpens in new window ]
Seventy-two people died when the fire ripped through the 23-storey social housing block in north Kensingston, one of the richest areas of west London, during the early hours of June 14th, 2017. It was Britain’s deadliest blaze in a residential building since the second World War.
In the report, there was also widespread criticism and blame levelled at the government, local authority of Kensington and Chelsea, the industry, regulatory groups, specific individuals and an ill-prepared fire brigade for years of inaction over fire safety in high-rise blocks.
“The fire at Grenfell Tower was the culmination of decades of failure by central government and other bodies in positions of responsibility in the construction industry,” said the inquiry report, which ran to almost 1,700 pages.
The UK government will “carefully consider” the findings of the Grenfell Tower inquiry to “ensure that such a tragedy cannot occur again”, UK prime minister Keir Starmer said in a statement after the report was published.
He also apologised to the families of those killed in the Grenfell fire, some of whom were present in the House of Commons gallery as he made a statement on the report from the inquiry. “I want to start with an apology on behalf of the British state to each and every one of you and, indeed, to all of the families affected by this tragedy. It should never have happened,” he said. “The country failed to discharge its most fundamental duty to protect you and your loved ones. The people that we are here to serve. And I am deeply sorry.”
In the years since the inferno, survivors and relatives of those who perished have demanded those responsible should face justice and criminal charges. But while British police have said 58 people and 19 firms and organisations are under investigation, prosecutions – including for corporate manslaughter and fraud – remain years away because of the complexity and the need to consider the inquiry’s report.
“I can’t pretend to imagine the impact of such a long police investigation on the bereaved and survivors, but we have one chance to get our investigation right,” London Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner Stuart Cundy said.
An earlier report by the inquiry team in 2019, which focused on the events of the night, found an electrical fault in a refrigerator in a fourth floor apartment started the fire.
Flames then spread uncontrollably, mainly because the tower had been covered during a 2016 refurbishment with cladding – exterior panels designed to improve appearance and add insulation – made of flammable aluminum composite material that acted as a source of fuel.
The harrowing accounts, including from those who perished while awaiting rescuers and having followed official guidance to stay put, prompted fury and national soul-searching over building standards and the treatment of low-income communities.
The inquiry found a litany of failings; lessons had not been learned from past high-rise tower blazes and testing systems were inadequate.
[ Grenfell Tower fire report: who was at fault and what was landlord’s role?Opens in new window ]
The most overt blame was laid at the feet of those involved in the refurbishment of the tower with the flammable cladding. The inquiry said architect Studio E, principal contractor Rydon, and cladding sub-contractor Harley all bore considerable responsibility for disaster.
Fire safety inspectors Exova were also blamed for the building being left “in a dangerous condition on completion of the refurbishment”.
Both Kensington and Chelsea council and the Tenant Management Organisation (TMO), which managed the local authority’s housing stock, were also heavily criticised. They had shown indifference to fire safety regulations in the years before the blaze and the TMO, whose difficult relationship with some residents was said to have created a “toxic atmosphere”, had been unduly focused on cutting costs.
While the local community and voluntary groups were praised for providing support, the council was also criticised for its slow, muddled and “wholly inadequate” response to the incident.
There was also condemnation of those firms which made and sold the cladding or its foam insulation – Celotex, Kingspan, and Arconic Architectural Products, the French subsidiary of US company Arconic. The inquiry concluded there had been “systematic dishonesty” on their part.
“They engaged in deliberate and sustained strategies to manipulate the testing processes, misrepresent tested data and mislead the market,” the report said. The issue of exterior cladding has raised concerns across Europe where there have been similar blazes in apartment blocks such as in the Spanish city of Valencia in February, and in Italy in 2021.
Following publication of the report, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said those responsible for the fire should be banned from receiving government contracts and urged the Crown Prosecution Service to bring criminal charges against them.
In Britain, government figures from July showed 3,280 buildings standing at 11 metres or higher still had unsafe cladding, with remediation work yet to start on more than two-thirds of them. – Additional reporting: PA